I’m finally getting around to checking this out in season order. I thought I’d share my thoughts after I watch each episode of Rawhide here. For what it’s worth I’ll be giving my ‘so-called’, er-aaahh…. ahem, ‘reviews’, LOL.

Rawhide was a happy discovery for me, but not for long. I first learned about this western television program through Iain Johnstone’s 1981 book, The Man With No Name: The Biography of Clint Eastwood. I wondered why I hadn’t seen the show before. Being a new Eastwood fan, I was excited about the prospect of seeing it but that feeling was short-lived. Over time I came to realize although it had a decent run of eight seasons, it wasn’t currently as popular as Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Big Valley and The Rifleman to still be shown on tv regularly. Many a year would pass before it finally would, but my interest had faded. Not in Clint’s movies, just Rawhide. At the time, he was still heavily involved in acting and directing, unlike now.

When Rawhide finally saw the light of day on DVD, I was happy to add it to my collection. This was another short-lived feeling. After viewing the first season, I understood why it wasn’t shown as frequently as the other westerns. It’s just not as good. That’s not to say it’s bad, not at all, just not enjoyable enough to look forward to more. That was strike one. Strike two was the amount of time in between the release of seasons one and two; July 25, 2006 to May 29, 2007… ten months! Not only that, but beginning with season two, they were divided into two volumes …and not at the same time! I understand the marketing logic behind this, but Rawhide took 8 years to be released in its entirety, less than its original run on tv! That was strike three for me and I gave up.

Rawhide ran from January 9, 1959 through January 4, 1966, 8 seasons but in actual time, a total of seven years. The first season of Rawhide was made available to purchase on dvd on July 25, 2006 and the final season was released June 3, 2014... Eight years! UGH!! Fast forward to a couple of years ago, I received the series as a birthday gift from my girlfriend, Tina. I finally took the set out of its plastic and began watching recently. So now I’ll be able to see the entire program, although, who knows how long it’ll take! The saving grace is that I do love westerns and like his recent movie, The Mule, Rawhide will make up for Eastwood directing only. Head ‘em up! Move ‘em out!

Thank you for your story and this page, Jed Cooper !Actually, the first time that Rawhide was broadcast in a French TV was in 1986 !And not entirely. It was when Clint’s work started to have some recognition by the critics in the mid 1980’s.I think that this is the first time in my life that I really saw Clint Eastwood.I was 4 years old then. So, I didn’t know him at the time and I wasn’t conscious that that young man was actually Clint Eastwood. I remember that he was a young and smiling character.About Rawhide, I especially remember the tons of cows. That’s it.When I was 7 or 8 years old, I really discovered Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.And I started to be interested in his films and his career. Clint became my favorite actor. When I was a teenager, I read a great book on Hollywood actors in a public library.This book listed all the great actors from the silent era to the 1980’s, decade by decade.Clint was listed in the 1960’s because he became famous with the Dollars trilogy.From this book, I learned that Clint was in a TV show called Rawhide from 1959 to 1966.When I learned that Rawhide was broadcast in a French TV in 1986, I remember that there was that TV show with the tons of cows ! I realized that Clint Eastwood was in that show.The French audience doesn’t know Rawhide and it’s not really popular.Wanted Dead or Alive with Steve McQueen, Wild Wild West, Bonanza and The Little House were popular in France.Today, Rawhide is not even entirely available on dvd here. The first season came out in 2010, I think.I have 60 episodes at least. I haven’t seen it entirely. But I would like to see it entirely.Rawhide is important in Clint’s career because it was really his acting school.He played with many Hollywood actors and worked with many directors.Thanks to Rawhide, Clint was associated with the western genre. Sergio Leone heard about him and asked him to star in A Fistful of Dollars, thanks to Rawhide. Rawhide is in many ways a TV remake of Howard Hawks’s Red River with John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. Clint took the part of Monty Clift and Eric Fleming took John Wayne’s part.

The screenshot image shows the title above but “Incident Of The Tumbleweed Wagon” is what appears in the DVD liner notes and elsewhere online, like IMDB. Looks like the last word didn’t make the airdate deadline! A good start to the series, narrated by Gil Favor who introduces himself as trail boss, his main crew and explains the purpose of their job, a cattle drive. Wishbone already stands out as a good character and recognizable as the bartender that later played in High Plains Drifter. Until I saw his name in the credits, I’d forgotten about John Larch, who’d go on to appear in Play Misty For Me and Dirty Harry. I did instantly recognize Bob Steele from Hang ‘Em High. It’ll be fun seeing other familiar faces that work again with Eastwood later on in movies. It’s too bad this show was only in black & white, appearing in color would’ve been an improvement.

A good episode. We learn a little bit about Rowdy’s military past when the crew happens upon a wedding taking place for an old friend of his. Wishbone is amusing to watch as he gets ornery when asked to remove his backup gun while filling water barrels outside the church with Rowdy and Pete.

I instantly recognized Martin Balsam, from Psycho and Death Wish III. Mark Richman is another familiar face, but I can’t recall what else I’ve seen him in. I’ve heard of Troy Donahue but haven’t seen anything else he’s done.

It’s in this episode we see how Rowdy gets his rattlesnake-gripped Colt Peacemakers. Eastwood took them with him overseas to use in his first two westerns directed by Sergio Leone.

An interesting story where tensions arise between Favor’s crew, occupants of an overturned stagecoach they discover and a bounty hunter.

There are many familiar faces here; Martin Milner (Adam-12),James Drury (The Virginian), Stafford Repp (Batman) and William Schallert, a character actor for almost sixty years. Being an Elvis fan, I recognize him from Speedway and Jan Shepard from King Creole.

“Incident Of The Power And The Plow”February 13, 1959(Season 1, Episode 6)

The drovers encounter a bigoted rancher. They are driven off the rancher’s land because of Favor buying candy for an Indian boy while in town stocking up on supplies. With Favor and Rowdy’s intervention, war between the townspeople and neighboring Comanche Indian tribe is avoided.